Kenner man sentenced to death in cabbie's murder is seeking a new trial

A Kenner man's conviction and death sentence for killing a cab driver in Metairie nearly 15 years ago should be tossed out in part because a prosecutor during the trial, former Judge Ronald Bodenheimer, misled the jury with questionable DNA evidence and did not properly disclose information tied to the genetic material, an attorney says in papers filed in court Wednesday.

As such, Teddy Chester, 32, deserves a new trial in the Dec. 27, 1995, death of John Adams, 34, who was shot in the back of the head in his cab during an attempted armed robbery. Chester was convicted of first-degree murder and sent to Louisiana's Death Row, and his conviction since has been upheld on appeals. But his case warrants a new look in light of newly obtained information, wrote Gary Clements, director of the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana.

Chester appeared in court Wednesday for an unrelated hearing on whether three doctors appointed to his case last month have the expertise to evaluate his mental state in light of his request in June to waive his right to appeal and proceed to his execution.

Chester's conviction largely was based on the DNA evidence obtained from blood spots found on his cap and the testimony of Chester's ex-girlfriend and her sister, Clements said. The sisters had questionable motives for testifying against Chester, and the blood, containing a mixture of DNA that included Adams', cannot be traced to Chester, he said.

"That Mr. Chester was convicted on the basis of false and misleading forensic evidence, moreover, is unfortunately not surprising given that one of his prosecutors, who presented much of the evidence, was Ronald Bodenheimer, who was later convicted of planting evidence, among other public corruption charges," Clements wrote.

Bodenheimer later became a 24th Judicial District Court judge and was arrested in 2002 by the FBI in part on charges that he conspired to plant illegal narcotics on Eric Boe, who opposed the judge's Venetian Isles Marina in eastern New Orleans.

Bodenheimer later pleaded guilty to corruption charges, including to trying to frame Boe, and received a 46-month prison sentence.

This is not the first death penalty case in which Bodenheimer was accused of cheating to win a conviction. Glen Seals, 46, who was sentenced to die for killing a cab driver in Elmwood in 1991, accused Bodenheimer three years ago of hiding evidence. Seals was convicted a second time last year for the murder and is serving life in prison.

Another death-row inmate, Manuel Ortiz, 52, convicted of a murder-for-hire scheme that left his wife and her friend dead in Kenner in 1992, alleges that Bodenheimer cheated so he deserves a new trial. A ruling on Ortiz's claims is pending.

Jefferson Parish prosecutors had not seen Clements' request and had no comment. Judge Ellen Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court gave Assistant District Attorney Terry Boudreaux until Sept. 9 to file a response.

Clements said a new witness claims he saw Elbert Ratcliff get out of Adams' cab after the shooting, holding a gun, and then saw Chester get out. Chester was convicted in May 1997 of being the killer, while Ratcliff was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving a life sentence in prison. Chester admitted to being in the cab but said Ratcliff pulled the trigger. The prosecutors rejected that claim, saying that Adams' DNA on Chester's cap proves he was the shooter.

Clements claims that Bodenheimer presented false DNA evidence to the jury in convicting Chester, and the trial attorneys erred in doing nothing to investigate the genetic tests. Further, Clements wrote, the DNA testing destroyed the blood evidence on the cap, leaving nothing else to test, and a vial of Adams' blood was destroyed without the defense attorneys being notified.

Clements cites a recent review of the state's DNA evidence against Chester that revealed "myriad problems with both the process and the results," problems the prosecution team did not share with Chester's attorneys. That, Clements wrote, violated Chester's right to a fair trial.

Meanwhile, Kovach ruled Wednesday that a team of doctors is qualified to evaluate Chester in light of his request to represent himself -- and then waive his right to appeal and be executed. Clements sought the hearing to question the doctors' expertise, and he also alleges that Chester is mentally retarded and therefore immune from the death penalty under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision.